[DaYooper]

Arguing about the matter does not make much sense.

But it makes for a long but interesting post.

 

[voja]

Open, closed, semi-open, those are just words and without something to compare they mean nothing. Beyerdynamic marketed T1 as semi open. T1's like dt880's have a big hole at the back and it leaks as if it had no back at all. How about audioquest nighthawk? Like T1 it is semi open. Or is it really?
Fostex th series are closed back but they leak alot of sound. Design has a lot of hidden vents and they're quite open in a way. How about zmf eikon and atticus? According to zmf it is closed, or "closed vented" design. Is it more open than nighthawk? Maybe.

Want to know what worlds first "truly open" headphone looks like? Here: flare audio reference R1. It's closed and vented but because of patterns inside the cups it actually is only truly open headphone. That is what Flare claims.

What everyone can agree on is that a headphone with visibly exposed driver is always an open headphone. Like hd800.
Wow! Thats open! Or is it really? How about the magnet and driver frame that blocks the diaphgram? Focals are considered to be very open because diaphgram is not obstructed by the magnet.
What if that driver had a paper box around it? Closed? Open? Semi-open?

How about iBasso sr1? Driver on iBasso is housed in a tube covered by thick paper.

Would you say it is open? Semi open? Closed? If it's not closed how thick does the paper have to be for it to count as closed? I don't know if sr2's are like that. It does have similar "tube" for the driver.

Maybe it does not have that thick paper at the back. Maybe it does. Maybe it's thin paper or felt or something else entirely.

Yeah... Open, closed, semi-open such vague terms with no consensus on how those should be defined accurately. Arguing about the matter does not make much sense.

Just a very gorgeous and detailed post. Love it!

You have very valid points and I stand with you. But if you are a manufacturer, I think marketing would definitely be the priority, and they just follow the industry-standard... and you know that no company (almost no company) is going to go out their way to negatively hurt their sales. I believe the SR2 is sat in a plastic housing, but I am not sure if there is paper or felt at the end of it.


The main thing that I had against what @Bboy500 wrote is the attitude of others' opinion not being valid.. but his being absolute. It's obvious there has been some serious hyping on this thread, it could've been intentional or unintentional, but either way.. these people have the right to share their opinion, especially if they are not intentionally hyping the headphone up, they just like it and shared their experience - but then for someone to say their opinion is invalid, that's just ignorant. Why are these people being "attacked" and not considered objective, but you are? It's just not right, and most of them had experience with many other headphones, it's not as though they said it with just the experience of listening to the SR2 - and so did Bboy, so how can he put himself above these people? That's the main part that I am against, it's not fair, and it does not follow the attitude that should be present on forums.

Basically he said (to anyone who is potentially considering to buy these headphones): No, do not listen to these people (who genuinely shared their experience - experience & opinion that's based on experience with many other models from different manufacturer's), listen to mine, mine is absolute and objective - theirs isn't. Now, this will not only put off these people from being interested in the SR2, but also make his opinion appear more important than others'. Now, that's not fair and okay, is it?
It would have been okay if he just normally shared his opinion just everybody else, but to disregard other peoples opinion and put his own at the top, that's wrong.

The SR2 has more intense and present sound presentation, that's it. It's not necessarily bad or good, it's just the sound characteristic of it.
No need to say things like "false advertising" and "I got tricked/decieved and I don't want others to fall into the same trap". There is no trap, the sound performance is something that depends on many factors (design, driver setup, tuning, the driver itself, and many more), but the industry just names a product open-back, semi-open, or closed-back mainly based on the back of the headphones. As you can see from @Roderick post, the true meaning of these terms can be greatly debated, but you have to accept that a manufacturer will name their product mostly based on the back of the headphone. Would you say Fostex is false advertising because a closed-back leaks sound? Or perhaps Sennehiser is also false advertising that the HD800 is open=back? I am just trying to bring up the validity of what you have said, and that you cannot pass around so much hate for no reason. In my honest opinion, it's ridiculous. I usually don't respond to negativity, but i like to protect the image of a forum where everybody can freely express their opinion without having somebody say to them that their opinion is not absolute or objective, or somebody's opinion superior to others'.


p.s. Flare Audio needs to create more headphones... sucks that they don't have any further plans to do so.

 

[Bboy500]

You would be surprised to find out they are called open-back because their back is open.

This sounds like you are seeing yourself superior to others, perhaps you are the objective one? Sound is perceived differently by everyone, thus, your opinion is just your opinion - you are trying to tell other people that what they are hearing isn't true?? Ridiculous.

Well... actually if you took any time to try to understand why they sound more closed, you would actually see that there is a double mesh (grill). The outside one is thick and not very dense, but below it is a very small-grid mesh, I believe this is what is making the sound more intense and present. If anything, there could be even more damping inside, but I doubt it - to me it appears that the double mesh system is the exact explanation behind the closed-back like isolation (vacuum-like), and the more intense presentation. Is their back open? Absolutely, so it's not false advertising. According to you, some manufacturers should state on their page that their headphone have sh^t build quality (khm.. khm... no need to name them, you should know by now).. However, that's not how marketing and business works =)

I personally prefer and like the semi-open nature of the SR2, so it's not comparable to sh^tty build quality (like I mentioned above), it's not something bad.


First time in my life do I hear the term "semi-closed", sound like "half empty".

Are you kidding me? You have never heard of the term semi-open? Literally just google it. Its a standard term.

What you described is literally semi-open, an open back headphone that is blocked by something (Like heavy/thick mesh as a perfect example) and causes a change in sound and keeps the sound leakage down, while also coming with some extra negatives that typical closed headphones have, though not to the same degree.

It's iBasso's job to report what the damn headphone is, not to market it so it sells by deceiving. "Technically it is an open back, its just covered by this thing that actually blocks sound from coming out" lol. You literally just described a semi-open headphone that the rest of the industry uses and then you called it an open back.

Do you know why ZMF calls your example a closed back despite it leaking? Because it has a huge wood cover on the back directly blocking the driver, the leaking in there is irrelevant.

The leaking is very very relevant when we are talking about open backs because open backs that don't leak do not exist. The whole idea behind prevent leaking is to close them up with something, that is the only single way to stop leaking.

Yeah... Open, closed, semi-open such vague terms with no consensus on how those should be defined accurately. Arguing about the matter does not make much sense.

It because a semi-open headphone is called that when the mesh, or whatever is covering it, interferes with sound. There are plenty of mesh covers from most open backs that don't stop the actual sound coming out (Which is what you saw in all your pictures), while keeping things from the outside world (Like dust) from coming in. Those are open backs because it has minimal change to sound. In the SR2's case, it just flat out does not function like an open back.

The hand test is the simplest way to do that with any headphone you own. If you cover the back of your headphone and the sound doesn't change its not an open back, it has something covering up the back and preventing the sound from moving trough it, which is why you can cover it with no change. It cant possible be an open back if that's the case, literally any open back will have the sound completely change because it literally requires the back to be open for the sound to function.

This isn't an "opinion", this is how the headphone is built and functions. I act like I am objectively correct here because its not an open back and I am being objective about this. I didn't mention a thing about sound when I wrote what I wrote.

But, the far far majority of time semi-open headphones and closed headphones do not sound nearly as good in the soundstage department as most open backs. once again, feel free to make your own opinions about how it sounds, I'm not going to argue that. To me, it sounded like a typical semi-open back with all the typical negatives and was the #1 reason I sent mine back.

What I did is write my own experience in this thread just like anyone else and some of you all are just getting really defensive about it. I am warning people because iBasso flat out lied and wasted both our (mine and the person I bought it from) time and money. Had the headphone been listed as what it actually is, it all would have been avoided and I wouldn't have bought it in the first place. All the hype about this beating $1,000+ headphones didn't help either (Especially when it was/is compared to other open headphones giving the impressions these are actually open)

So excuse me for trying to warn others from my own experience with this headphone. Sorry, only positive things are allowed in this thread about the SR2 guys. Don't you dare criticize them! Even though I have stated from the very first time I got these that I actually like the sound and I think they are worth it, they just aren't open backs.

Excuse me that I told a guy who was looking for gaming headphones to look elsewhere because from my experience these had worse soundstage then every single open headphone I tested them against. Excuse me for calling out iBasso for not using a term that exists to describe what these actually are and instead deceiving people.

I am going to continue to stand on this hill and die on it. These. Are. Not. Open. Backs. Maybe they sound like it to you, you do you. But they are not physically fit to be called open backs and my opinion is I certainly disagree on them sounding like one.

Edit: Hey look at that, the very 1st review on google when you try to find one for this headphone *Surprised Pikachu face* Calles it a semi-open back! https://majorhifi.com/ibasso-sr2-headphone-review/

When wearing them I couldn’t notice any pressure coming up against my ears whatsoever, and this being a semi-open back my ears never felt fatigued or overheated when testing them out in long listening sessions.

As do almost (Not every, but most) any other reviews I have read from big websites. When compared to open backs, if they don't flat out call it a semi-open they sure as hell describe it. The fact I am getting called out for this is beyond ridiculous. There are easily enough reviews out these agreeing with I am saying to understand at the very least, this is not some weird view.

 

[dstokes]

This might seem off topic since it’s not about open back vs closed back but it is about pad swapping on these. I tried both sets that cake with them and while the spare set that came with these does reduce the warmth a bit it still wasn’t what I wanted. So I tried some dekoni fenestrated sheepskin fisted th pads which has a similar tuning where it made them less warm but still wasn’t it. I’m using the th series pads because the angled pad is similar to the stock pad but the standard dekoni beyerdynamic pads do fit just the same so those would give similar results. After the sheepskin I tried dekoni velour which again had a sound but was slightly too thin now. I then tried the dekoni th series hybrid pads. And these are currently still on them. To my ears they add just enough detail without becoming bright, and the bass remains full and they seem well balanced now. On the schiit magnie heresy they sound great rich, on the ifi zen dac they sound a little less rich until you hit the true bass button. Once you hit that button these become about the most fun you can have with bass that you can feel rumbling on your head. The stock pads are great if you want a headphone with a warm brassy sound signature. If you want something lighter these do change with pads and too my ears dekoni hybrids work perfect for my ears. Sorry for the long ramble, hope it helps anyone who has these or was thinking about them if they have some spare pads laying around they do change a lot with pads swapping.

 

[voja]

Are you kidding me? You have never heard of the term semi-open? Literally just google it. Its a standard term.

What you described is literally semi-open, an open back headphone that is blocked by something (Like heavy/thick mesh as a perfect example) and causes a change in sound and keeps the sound leakage down, while also coming with some extra negatives that typical closed headphones have, though not to the same degree.

It's iBasso's job to report what the damn headphone is, not to market it so it sells by deceiving. "Technically it is an open back, its just covered by this thing that actually blocks sound from coming out" lol. You literally just described a semi-open headphone that the rest of the industry uses and then you called it an open back.

Do you know why ZMF calls your example a closed back despite it leaking? Because it has a huge wood cover on the back directly blocking the driver, the leaking in there is irrelevant.

The leaking is very very relevant when we are talking about open backs because open backs that don't leak do not exist. The whole idea behind prevent leaking is to close them up with something, that is the only single way to stop leaking.



It because a semi-open headphone is called that when the mesh, or whatever is covering it, interferes with sound. There are plenty of mesh covers from most open backs that don't stop the actual sound coming out (Which is what you saw in all your pictures), while keeping things from the outside world (Like dust) from coming in. Those are open backs because it has minimal change to sound. In the SR2's case, it just flat out does not function like an open back.

The hand test is the simplest way to do that with any headphone you own. If you cover the back of your headphone and the sound doesn't change its not an open back, it has something covering up the back and preventing the sound from moving trough it, which is why you can cover it with no change. It cant possible be an open back if that's the case, literally any open back will have the sound completely change because it literally requires the back to be open for the sound to function.

This isn't an "opinion", this is how the headphone is built and functions. I act like I am objectively correct here because its not an open back and I am being objective about this. I didn't mention a thing about sound when I wrote what I wrote.

But, the far far majority of time semi-open headphones and closed headphones do not sound nearly as good in the soundstage department as most open backs. once again, feel free to make your own opinions about how it sounds, I'm not going to argue that. To me, it sounded like a typical semi-open back with all the typical negatives and was the #1 reason I sent mine back.

What I did is write my own experience in this thread just like anyone else and some of you all are just getting really defensive about it. I am warning people because iBasso flat out lied and wasted both our (mine and the person I bought it from) time and money. Had the headphone been listed as what it actually is, it all would have been avoided and I wouldn't have bought it in the first place. All the hype about this beating $1,000+ headphones didn't help either (Especially when it was/is compared to other open headphones giving the impressions these are actually open)

So excuse me for trying to warn others from my own experience with this headphone. Sorry, only positive things are allowed in this thread about the SR2 guys. Don't you dare criticize them! Even though I have stated from the very first time I got these that I actually like the sound and I think they are worth it, they just aren't open backs.

Excuse me that I told a guy who was looking for gaming headphones to look elsewhere because from my experience these had worse soundstage then every single open headphone I tested them against. Excuse me for calling out iBasso for not using a term that exists to describe what these actually are and instead deceiving people.

I am going to continue to stand on this hill and die on it. These. Are. Not. Open. Backs. Maybe they sound like it to you, you do you. But they are not physically fit to be called open backs and my opinion is I certainly disagree on them sounding like one.

Edit: Hey look at that, the very 1st review on google when you try to find one for this headphone *Surprised Pikachu face* Calles it a semi-open back! https://majorhifi.com/ibasso-sr2-headphone-review/



As do almost (Not every, but most) any other reviews I have read from big websites. When compared to open backs, if they don't flat out call it a semi-open they sure as hell describe it. The fact I am getting called out for this is beyond ridiculous. There are easily enough reviews out these agreeing with I am saying to understand at the very least, this is not some weird view.

No. This thread is not only about positives, but when you put others' opinion down and disregard it - it's not something you should do.

By the way, I never heard the term "semi-closed", you wrote semi-closed instead of semi-open, but could be possible that you got confused and didn't notice... it's not about the grammar, it's the attitude.

I was only referring to your words about the semi-open discussion, I know you said they are worth it...

Just like Hifigo calls them semi-open in the description, majorhifi does the same. Btw, iBasso doesn't have them on their websites, so it's the distributors calling them open-back.

It's all good. Don't take it personally, but I get defensive when a forum is not a place where one can freely express their own opinion.

 

[Bboy500]

No. This thread is not only about positives, but when you put others' opinion down and disregard it - it's not something you should do.

By the way, I never heard the term "semi-closed", you wrote semi-closed instead of semi-open, but could be possible that you got confused and didn't notice... it's not about the grammar, it's the attitude.

I was only referring to your words about the semi-open discussion, I know you said they are worth it...

Just like Hifigo calls them semi-open in the description, majorhifi does the same. Btw, iBasso doesn't have them on their websites, so it's the distributors calling them open-back.

It's all good. Don't take it personally, but I get defensive when a forum is not a place where one can freely express their own opinion.

If someone calls the LCD2 a closed back headphone, and says it's their opinion, they are still wrong. As an example.

If someone finds these can to be better then ZMFs, Audeze and Hifimans, more power to them! Their wallet is saved. I can disagree, but I can also admit that part is just an opinion. Everyones ears are different.

But please don't call these open backs. Like I emphasized, had I known these were semi-open I would have never bought them. I am just trying to make that clear to anyone looking to buy these to not make the same time wasting mistake I did.

Especially to the OP who asked about gaming. Unless you need isolation (Which these only half provide) my suggestion will always be open backs. Open backs for gaming accuracy and immersion are almost always better.

I'm not trying to necessarily claim anyone's opinion of sound is invalid. I'm just frustrated these are not what was advertised to me.

And some of the comparisons early on didn't exactly help make that obvious.

Edit: And yes that semi-closed was a mix up, my bad!

 

[Roderick]

Just a very gorgeous and detailed post. Love it!

Thank you

You have very valid points and I stand with you. But if you are a manufacturer, I think marketing would definitely be the priority, and they just follow the industry-standard... and you know that no company (almost no company) is going to go out their way to negatively hurt their sales. I believe the SR2 is sat in a plastic housing, but I am not sure if there is paper or felt at the end of it.

I don't think calling it semi-open would have necessarely been bad for sales. Semi-opens do have their positives.

The main thing that I had against what @Bboy500 wrote is the attitude of others' opinion not being valid.. but his being absolute.

Agreed.

industry just names a product open-back, semi-open, or closed-back mainly based on the back of the headphones

That is true indeed. Thats why it's always important to be patient, wait for reviews with comparisons and ask questions.

p.s. Flare Audio needs to create more headphones... sucks that they don't have any further plans to do so.

Yes! We need fresh thinking. Unfortunately in the case of Flare R1 new idea did not give good results.

It's iBasso's job to report what the damn headphone is, not to market it so it sells by deceiving.

Definately! I don't know how they marketed this but box says "operating principle: open back". But like said exact limits of what is open and what is semi-open is vague. HOWEVER: SR1's were marketed as semi-open and it says it on the box too. IF sr2's have the driver enclosed in that "tube" with paper like SR1's did they should have been consistent with their descriptions and call sr2's semi-open too. Someone who disliked SR1's semi-open sound could have bought SR2's just the sake off it being fully open. IF iBasso just decided to call sr2's open without really making it more open than SR1's... There better be a damn good reason for it. Would be nice to see some internal pictures to see how it is.

It because a semi-open headphone is called that when the mesh, or whatever is covering it, interferes with sound.

That is true. BUT it is impossible to draw the line where closed becomes semi-open and semi-open becomes fully open. Close the cups with hands test works but only to a certain extent. Sound on most semi-opens will change if you place your hands on the cups. You say with open headphone mesh does not interfere with sound. By that defination there are very few open back headphones. You know how people love grillmodding their Hifiman headphones. Because there is no exact limits for open/closed everyones opinion should be taken with a grain of salt. What you consider semi-open might still pass as an open for someone else.

So excuse me for trying to warn others from my own experience with this headphone. Sorry, only positive things are allowed in this thread about the SR2 guys.

I personally love to hear about negative experiences. It's allmost impossible to make educated guesses on what to purchase when everything is "best ever". It's not just this thread. I would like to hear more about what people don't like about sr2's. If crinacles fr measurements are correct this should be very polarizing headphone.

 

[sS1RuXx]

I just wanna know if someone who have tested both SR1 and SR2 can tell me how much is the difference of the Soundstage? because like i said before i didn't liked the soundstage from SR1 and I need to know if is the same Soundstage or just a little bit better becuase then i will not buy it.

 

[Mark Up]

I would also like to know comparisons of the bass extension and quantity between the SR1 and SR2. The SR1 had some of the best bass I've ever heard.

 

[Glasha]

I just wanna know if someone who have tested both SR1 and SR2 can tell me how much is the difference of the Soundstage? because like i said before i didn't liked the soundstage from SR1 and I need to know if is the same Soundstage or just a little bit better becuase then i will not buy it.

I didn't try SR1, but SR2 don't have a big soundstage. For games I use Sennheiser

 

[dstokes]

I would also like to know comparisons of the bass extension and quantity between the SR1 and SR2. The SR1 had some of the best bass I've ever heard.

I haven’t heard the SR1 but I can say now after pad swapping the SR2 that they are my new go to for fun bass when running on my ifi zen dac with true bass ON. They become these deep subwoofer bass cannons that have bass texture I love. A friend who likes music but is slowly understanding why I appreciate audio equipment was over and after using my focal elegia and others told me nothing is as fun and detailed as the SR2. Without pad swapping the stock pads are sooooo much warmer and I’m sure produce the same amount of bass on the same songs but something about the punch, decay and deepness with dekoni hybrid pads to my ears is special. I hope that helps even though it is not directly what you asked.

 

[iFi audio]

I haven’t heard the SR1 but I can say now after pad swapping the SR2 that they are my new go to for fun bass when running on my ifi zen dac with true bass ON. They become these deep subwoofer bass cannons that have bass texture I love

Thanks, I'm glad you like this combo. To me bass is always a mixture of texture, control and slam. I haven't heard ZEN DAC with SR2s though...

 

[dstokes]

Thanks, I'm glad you like this combo. To me bass is always a mixture of texture, control and slam. I haven't heard ZEN DAC with SR2s though...

I usually run my schiit heresy with my zen dac as just the dac so I can fully unfold mqa, but I decided I haven’t actually messed with the zen dac as an amplifier so I was running my easier to drive cans on it and the true bass button is a fun button when the mods calls for it. Something about the specific frequency it adds to the sr2 with those pads really gives it to my ears just the right everything. But I do like finding a headphone I like that happens to pad swap with common pads like dekoni beyerdynamics, dekoni fostex th series, or other similarly sized pads. Makes it easier since a lot of people have those sized pads already.

 

[Libr4]

I recently bought the Hifiman Ananda. I have clocked in 45hours with the Anandas so far. Keep in mind the Anandas are fully-open back wheres SR2 Semi-open.Soundstage and imaging go to the SR2. The SR2 is much wider and much more spacious. The Anandas feel narrower in comparison. It's still easy to pinpoint an instrument in space. I feel on the SR2 its much easier.

---

The Micro-details on the Anandas are somewhat better though I feel I am not missing much compared to the SR2. Keep in mind this is the SR2 with its alternate pads(the extra that comes with it). In terms of sound, the Ananda's are noticeably thin; they luck the body and impact the SR2 has. The Ananda's are more forgiving and are an allrounder wheres the SR2 may suck at old/poorly mastered tracks.

The Bass on the Anandas is almost non-existent compared to the SR2. Its bass feels one-dimension, sort of like you hear it but never feel the impact/weight and it has one to two dimensions of depth. This is where the SR2 shines, its bass has layers upon layers.

---

I bought the Anandas in the hopes of finding that analytical sound I crave but in can-form with some weight and I am abit disappointed. My experience with the Anandas have been somewhat bitter, This is the clinical sound I always thought I preferred but it turned out blend and somewhat boring (A headphone midlife crisis you may call it). If I were to keep one of these It would be the SR2. So far I plan on keeping both.

---

In my earlier post I mentioned the leakages on the SR2, Its nothing compared to the Anandas. The Anandas leak 100% of the sound, a person in the next room could easily hear your music. Wheres on the SR2 people sitting across the couch could barely hear my music.

 

[voja]

I recently bought the Hifiman Ananda. I have clocked in 45hours with the Anandas so far. Keep in mind the Anandas are fully-open back wheres SR2 Semi-open.Soundstage and imaging go to the SR2. The SR2 is much wider and much more spacious. The Anandas feel narrower in comparison. It's still easy to pinpoint an instrument in space. I feel on the SR2 its much easier.

---

The Micro-details on the Anandas are somewhat better though I feel I am not missing much compared to the SR2. Keep in mind this is the SR2 with its alternate pads(the extra that comes with it). In terms of sound, the Ananda's are noticeably thin; they luck the body and impact the SR2 has. The Ananda's are more forgiving and are an allrounder wheres the SR2 may suck at old/poorly mastered tracks.

The Bass on the Anandas is almost non-existent compared to the SR2. Its bass feels one-dimension, sort of like you hear it but never feel the impact/weight and it has one to two dimensions of depth. This is where the SR2 shines, its bass has layers upon layers.

---

I bought the Anandas in the hopes of finding that analytical sound I crave but in can-form with some weight and I am abit disappointed. My experience with the Anandas have been somewhat bitter, This is the clinical sound I always thought I preferred but it turned out blend and somewhat boring (A headphone midlife crisis you may call it). If I were to keep one of these It would be the SR2. So far I plan on keeping both.

---

In my earlier post I mentioned the leakages on the SR2, Its nothing compared to the Anandas. The Anandas leak 100% of the sound, a person in the next room could easily hear your music. Wheres on the SR2 people sitting across the couch could barely hear my music.

Interesting huh

It seems as though there is no absolute opinion. What nobody can say is that your opinion is wrong - especially with 45h of listening time with the Anandas. You also did a good job at mentioning your observations on both.

It's not as though one is better than the other - just two different headphones with different characteristics.

Everybody's experience differs. There is no right or wrong - just personal preference and bias. I think everybody should listen to both @Bboy500's opinion and everyone elses. You could very well be the person who finds that your experience matches to Bboy's, or you could find your experience to match with somebody elses. That's why threads like these exist, so we can all share our opinion - then, one can get a basic idea of what everybody is experiencing.